Over the last 500 years, the bra has come a long way from its humble beginnings to the modern bra we know today, which comes in varying forms to suit every need. However, the undergarment has seen many upgrades and alterations since its inception, so let’s take a walk back through time as we talk through the evolution of the brasserie.
14th Century: Bra Beginnings
The 14th century gave birth to the first bra, or rather, the first bandeau. Before the times of bra fittings and bras to suit your every activity, this simple fabric strap was all there was. There are paintings depicting female athletes wearing a bandeau-like top across their chest during the Bronze age, either to cover up or protect themselves. While these are very different from the underwired and strappy bras of today, this is the earliest iteration of the modern bra top.
16th Century: Corsetry
Skipping to two centuries later, the 16th-century version of bras was very different from the largely unsupportive bandeau top. The corset was first embraced by the fashionable French in the early 1500s, and the objective was to give women the ultimate feminine shape. So what was this desired shape? Women tightly laced the corsets at the front of the body to compress the stomach and chest area and define the waist. The breasts were then pushed up until they were almost falling out of the corset, as was the fashionable style at the time. This style remained highly stylish for western women all the way until the early twentieth century.
Edwardian Era Girdles
In Edwardian times, while women still wore corsets, we saw the introduction of the girdle. The girdle differed from the corset as the lacing had now moved to the back of the garment. This meant that the torso was pushed inward, and the hips were pushed outward, meaning a woman’s body made an ‘S’ shape. The girdle gave support to the chest but was more about the overall shape of a woman’s body.
The 1907 Printing Of Brassiere
In 1907, leading fashion magazine Vogue published the word “brassiere” for the first time, and while the bra as we know it would not be created for another seven years, this was the first printed mention of the word. Four years later, in 1911, the word would finally appear in the Oxford Dictionary.
1914 – The Modern Bra Is Born
In the United States, on November 3rd, 1914, the modern bra as we know it today was created. This bra separated and lifted and was a breath of fresh air compared to the constricting metal contraptions of the past. This bra allowed more freedom of movement for women and was created by Mary Phelps Jacobs. Phelps Jacobs created the brassiere purely out of necessity, as a year prior, she found that the sheer evening gown she was wearing was affected by the harsh, bulky corset. So she sewed together two handkerchiefs and a pink ribbon to create a primitive version of the bra that would be invisible under the delicate dress she wore, and just like that, the bra was born.
The Flat Chest of the 1920s
1920s fashion certainly influenced what sort of undergarments women wore. By now, corsets had been completely discarded, for a bandeau-like top, as was popular many years prior. This was in order to press down a woman’s chest to make it flatter, as a straighter, more masculine body type was in fashion, which was further enhanced by flapper dresses, a long, straight dress that did not hug the body but instead gave a pencil-like silhouette.
Cup Sizes Emerge – The 1930s
Although several iterations of the bra had been around for many years, it wasn’t until 1932 that alternate cup sizes were created in order to fit various women more comfortably. The business S.H Camp and Company made sizes that corresponded with the alphabet, ranging from A-D. These new bras also had adjustable bands and hooks in order to fit each woman properly.
The Torpedo Bras Of The 1940s
As much of the Western world erupted into war in the 1940s, the torpedo bra was created. This bra had a bullet-like shape to it and became popular for working women as it claimed to have more protection for women working on production lines.
Origins Of The Push Up Bra
In 1964, the original push-up bra was created. It was made initially by The Canadian Lady Brand and became widely known as “The Wonderbra”. This gave a more curvaceous and ultra-feminine look to the chest and was a hit with women immediately.
Let’s Get Physical
While some iterations of the bra had been around for hundreds of years, it wasn’t until the 1970s that the sports bra was created. In 1977, amidst workout mania, the days of Bridget Fonda exercise tapes and lycra-laden ladies, the first sports bra, dubbed “the jog bra”, was born.
The Trends Today
In recent years various trends have come to prominence for women’s bras. In the 2000s, bralettes became increasingly popular as young women especially became frustrated with padded and underwired bras as they were deemed bulky and uncomfortable. As a result, the softer, often lace-covered bralettes became more than just a training bra for pre-teens. Modern bras come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. No longer do they cater to just one type of woman. Some women prefer to go braless, while others like the support of a balconette bra. Interestingly, there’s been a resurgence in bandeau style bras and corsets in recent years, showing the true secular nature of fashion.
The bra has gone through much innovation to get to where it is today. While in the past, it was seen simply as an undergarment or a piece of fabric to maneuver the body to look the desired way, today’s lingerie is beautiful. It can be worn not simply as a functional item but also as a fashion piece. Women can wear anything from strapless to full coverage or even bralettes. So, with how far this garment has come in the last several hundred years, who knows where it will become in the future.
